Okay, I wanted to give y’all a sneak peak into what my eyes have seen so far in Chile! Especially since I am not posting on social media currently (which the Lord has provided so much freedom through by the way). So ENJOY!
Our home abode!!! We are sleeping in the church’s Sunday School room. I have had some pretty good sleeps in here. This week we moved to another classroom because we are painting the one pictured above!
In this pic, you can see the Chilean mountains and flag in the distance as well as Poly and Marcos’ house (our host family). The tin roof is the top of the church and the roof with all the stuff on it is the top of the Sunday School room (pictured above). I took this pic from the atrium where you can find someone sun bathing, reading, having quiet times, or water-coloring at all times.
Every Saturday, we go to a market and pass out balloons and/or toys, tiny bibles, and pray over the people there. The market reminds us of a flea market back in the states and the Lord has used this time to form some really cool relationships.
One relationship that came out of the market is KAREN. She is a spunky, fiery seven-year-old that deep down is very sweet and is crying out for love and attention.
Karen comes to church with her 10-year-old brother (not with parents) and sits by us every week. She spends every church service drawing in my journal and trying on alllll my jewelry. So yes, this is the little one in whom I gave my cross ring to. During church that day (last Sunday) I was wrestling with God over it. I had received the ring when I was in 6th grade after my church confirmation and have worn it since. That ring has been my extra reminder that God was is with me in any hardship I face. And to be honest, I didn’t want to give it away. But, I felt God pushing me to do it, so I obeyed. And it was completely worth the JOY on her face as she walked away taping the ring against any metal thing she passed.
One cool thing we did early on was go to the school’s annual fundraiser, Fiesta de las Americas, where we got to try all sorts of Chilean foods (my fav = EMPANADAS) and watch some of the kids perform. Another interesting Chilean food is a drink where they mix dried sweet corn, peach juice, and dehydrated peaches. When I got it at first, I thought it was a mixture of coke and meat and was afraid to try it, but it turned out to be one of my favorites!
On our first adventure day, we took a three hour bus ride (reallllly figuring out Chilean bus system) to Antofagasta, Chile. We got to walk around the city, lay of the beach for a while, and enjoy some YUMMY ice cream bars.
Our main ministry is teaching English in a local Montessori school. It’s the same school that our host fam’s kids go to (Valentina and Tito) and it’s SO fun getting to chat with them and their friends at school. Above, we are playing Pictionary with English action verbs and having them use it in a sentence.
Here’s a little girl I met at the market. Her and her older sisters were there selling clothes. We played with her dolls for a good 20 or 30 minutes with very little talking. It’s sometimes super frustrating not knowing Spanish well, but I’ve come to realize that love truly is the universal language as cheesy as that sounds. Also, since I’ve already picked up a lot more Spanish which has been really COOL.
Our second adventure day was spent in San Pedro de Atacama, which is the cutest lil South American tourist town in the middle of a ginormous desert filled with volcanos and lagoons and geysers. We were only there a little more than 24 hours so we decided to bike/hike through the Valle De La Luna (aka valley of the moon). It was by far the bumpiest bike ride I have ever been on, but it was unlike anything I had EVER laid eyes on and suchhhh a life-giving experience.
At the school, the Seniors each had to pick a country and make a presentation about it in English. This was the USA team. They dressed up as “cowboys”, made hotdogs, played the song “Cotton-Eye Joe”, and showcased Los Angeles, NYC, and Disney World as the most important places in the country. A super funny and interesting day!
CLEANING DAY!!! We swept, cleaned, and organized parts of the church. Pictured in the green is our INCREDIBLE, hilarious host Pastor Marcos. He likes to make me say the word “to open” (aka “abrir” in Spanish) because I literally cannot say it correctly for the life of me! But he can’t say the words “yawn” or “world” very well so we dish those words back at him.
All in all, the Lord is moving, shaking, and growing us here in Calama! We only have one week left and time has FLOWN by. We all are already talking about how much we are gonna miss our host family and the kind, generous people here!!
